Souta hobbled up the shrine steps, carrying all the luggage in one trip. His mother stood at the top, helping her father-in-law climb the last remaining steps. Despite the winter weather, the young teen began to sweat.
"Souta, are you sure you're alright?" His mother called down to him, as she and Grandfather had passed him about halfway up.
"Got it, Mama!"
They returned home as requested by Sesshou, who had called with the bad news the day prior. Kagome had activated the well and fallen in, where no one from this time could follow.
"Are you sure?" His mother called down again, to which Souta could only vigorously nod in reply, "I'll go start some lunch for us, Dear. Meet us inside!"
Souta cleared the top and dropped the luggage for a breather, panting as if he'd run a mile. Leaning on his knees, he took a deep breath of the crisp winter air.
"Lord Souta," He glanced left, eyes bugging out at the vibrational closeness of the speaker before him, and then right when another voice finished, "Allow us."
"Woah," Souta back peddled down a step, his head swiveling left and right between the two women who now carried the mountain of luggage with ease. Noticing their bright red and white shrine maiden attire, identical to Kagome's outfit, he inquired, "When did Gramps hire more staff?"
"We're employed by Lord Sesshomaru." The one on the left spoke in softer tones, "We regret to admit that we were unable to aid Lady Kagome in her endeavors. Lord Kaito had incapacitated us prior to her arrival."
"Please accept our apologies." The one on the right bowed, still not even breaking a sweat while balancing the multiple suitcases in her slender arms. Her sister followed, bowing as well.
"Uh," Souta scratched the back of his head nervously, "Don't sweat it, really! Sis always gets herself into trouble, and she always gets herself out of it."
"I wish I shared your optimism." All three turned to greet Sesshou as he approached them, sans human disguise. "Kairi, Nami, please deliver their luggage and return to your duties."
"Yes, M'Lord." They chimed, turning in mirrored synchrony to do as asked.
"They're not human, are they?" Souta observed their lack of strain with mild annoyance.
"No," His sister's fiancé confirmed, sighing away the pressure in his chest that had nothing to do with childish irritability. "You should enjoy your days more now that Kairi and Nami are here to stay."
"Sis'll come back, y' know." Sesshou eyed the short boy beside him. It appeared to be that chatterbox was a genetic trait in the Higurashi line.
"You thought highly of my brother," He followed in the shrine maidens' wake with Kagome's brother in tow, "And yet he did not return."
"But he did." Souta corrected, not noticing how Sesshou's eyes grew a fraction wider. "When Sis first came back, Inuyasha was with her. She ran to us and hugged Mama, and when we all looked back, he was being pulled back into the well."
"He didn't attempt to stay."
It was an observation, but Souta continued on as if it were an inquiry, "I think we all knew it was goodbye, you know? Maybe they felt the well's magic fading away and knew they couldn't fight against it. Time and Fate said Kagome was born here, so she needed to return here."
"Hn." Sesshou could only hope. The two made it to the Tree of Ages and paused.
"Mama told me about your proposal." Souta admitted.
"Are you disappointed that I am not Inuyasha?" Sesshou didn't take his eyes off the tree; he was still capable of seeing his sleep-dead brother wrapped in vines with an arrow through his chest, even after all these years.
"I miss him," The crack in Souta's voice pulled Sesshou's attention back to the boy. He didn't expect to feel slighted. "We all do. Mama always looks so forlorn after you leave. I get it, though," Souta looked up through blurry eyes and saw his old friend, the loud mouthed half demon who played with him like a real big brother would. "In the right lighting or at a distance, I could swear it's him."
"How did you spend time with him?" Sesshou looked back to the imagery of Inuyasha and pondered how he might have played with his own younger brother, had their circumstances been different. He could easily assume swordplay and rough housing, as they (sort of) did in their adulthood. However, they lacked fondness and amicable rivalry. There had always been an undertone of hostility instead.
"Huh?" Souta blinked back tears and considered the question thoughtfully. "Well, mostly I had to teach him about modern stuff. Like showers and toilets." His brown eyes crinkled in delight when Sesshou let out an amused huff, "And we would work on the house together when he broke walls." It was such an Inuyasha thing to do- recklessly breaking down whole walls of a modern house. "And he showed me his sword, told tales of his most epic battles, and I even taught him how to play video games."
"Hn," Sesshou pat the palm of his hand onto the boy's crown of soft brown hair. It was a touch lighter than Kagome's in coloring, but the texture was the same. "Why don't you show me how to play a game, and I'll bring you to the main Taisho house to witness an epic battle?" When a grin broke out across Souta's face, he added, "With your mother's permission, of course."
"That would be awesome!" Sesshou resisted the urge to cringe against the volume of his excitement. "Oh man, really?"
"Hn." His hand dropped when Souta burst away towards the house in a sprint, leaving widely spaced shoe prints in the snow.
"Mama! Mama!" He called ahead, "Can I please, please, please…!"
Sesshou could still hear them inside the house, going over the details while Souta stressed how absolutely careful he would be, despite his mother having agreed outright. She trusted her son to be safe in his care even after he'd lost Kagome, despite his best efforts, and only inquired for details of the arrangement out of curiosity.
For once, Sesshou wasn't weighed down by the idea of sharing similarities with his long dead brother. These humans cherished Inuyasha in a way that didn't dictate worth or a hierarchy of power or affection. He held no specific place ahead or behind his brother in their eyes. To Kagome's family, he and Inuyasha were the Taisho brothers, who loved Kagome as fiercely as they did.
The wind picked up then, pushing fat snowflakes in the whistling gusts that muted the conversations from within the household. Sesshou tucked his hands into his coat pockets and considered the Tree of Ages again. The image of Inuyasha pinned in concealment wouldn't leave his mind's eye.
Kagome had asked him once if he ever mourned Inuyasha's death, and at the time he could only consider him a potential threat to the relationship he was forming with her, and thought it best that he'd perished long ago. How many times had he come across his sleeping brother, seething with rage? He'd been ashamed of their shared blood when he found out that Inuyasha had the audacity to succumb to a priestess' spell. With his body pinned for all to see, it was disgraceful.
Words felt thick in his throat, and as someone who had spent nearly a thousand years choosing to say very little when confronted--if at all-- Sesshou almost envied Kagome's unfiltered nervous ramblings.
In the frigid winter weather, Sesshou wet his lips to regain short lived warmth. Striding over the roped fence, he came right up to the bark of the tree, placing a palm over the five hundred and fifty-three year old scar. Even the indent where the arrowhead once pierced was unchanged.
Brother, he thought, practicing his words.
Snow was beginning to gather in his silver hair and sit across his broad shoulders. Closing his eyes, he thought of the words he wished to speak over and over again.
Brother, he inhaled slowly through his nose.
Brother, he exhaled completely.
He could practically smell him. Inuyasha had always smelled strongly of forestry. It was a given since he slept in trees, grew up escaping predators by climbing to the highest treetops, and slumbered for fifty years pinned to one. He would smell of rain water or rivers, depending on what he'd last chosen to bathe in; hints of sweat and blood from recent battles, but more often than not smelling of his own blood rather than his opponent's; an overlay of fire-rat and embers thanks to his gifted clothing; and then there was the part of his scent that was distinctive to his family, telling himself that this scent was a relative. If he had to name it, he'd say it was Father's. If his father had been asked, he might say his own father's.
Sesshou brought his other hand to the bark and leaned forward until his forehead pressed between his hands. He could smell him so closely, as if he were right in front of him.
But how?
"Br-"
He was interrupted.
"Big Brother!" Souta called from the open doorway of the Higurashi home.
Sesshou startled, having been concentrating so deeply on his olfactory processing, he'd tuned out the world around him. He turned his head in the direction of the house.
"Come on, we got a game to play!" Souta waved his arms excitedly.
Sesshou nodded in agreement, stepping away from the Tree of Ages. Perhaps it manipulated his senses to give him what he sought. Or maybe he'd never come so close to the mark on the tree's thick trunk to notice that much like Inuyasha smelt of trees, the Tree of Ages was just as stained in Inuyasha's scent, as if they were connected.
He would have to visit with Bokuseno at a later date to find out. For now, he would learn how to manipulate the controls of a semi-dated video game if only to please his new little brother.
"How long can you stay before you have to go back to school?" Kagome cuddled Shippou to her chest. She didn't realize just how much she missed being able to carry him around. It was a shock to see him so little now that she had come to know his adult self.
"A few days, at least." He was eating up the contact and closeness just as much as her. "I'm glad Inuyasha sent word you were back. I was gonna take my break elsewhere to keep practicing my magic before I found out."
The two were making their way out to the Tree of Ages to retrieve Inuyasha for dinner. Kaede had cooked up enough for everyone, including the full family of slayers, to celebrate Shippou's latest rank and Kagome's return. It made their once traveling band a complete reunion.
"It sounds like you two are on better terms." She petted the kit's wild hair down into place. "So much had changed in the years that I missed here, but your hair definitely does not." Giggling, she added, "It's as wild as ever."
"What am I like in the future, Kagome?" He knew she couldn't tell him every little detail, but whatever he could know would be reassuring nonetheless.
"You're so strong, my Shippou." Kagome hugged the small child tighter, bringing her lips to his temple for a kiss, "And successful. You're loved by a mate, and you work so hard to protect demon-kind all over the world."
"Really?" His eyes were saucers, full of hope and eager for details.
"It won't always be easy," Her heart hurt knowing she couldn't divulge any kind of warning. "But I promise every moment you experience will mean something to this world. You will change so many lives in the next five hundred years."
"I'll study real hard and make sure I become the strongest kitsune, I promise." He was so determined, and it warmed Kagome's heart.
"I know you will." She nuzzled his nose with hers. "There he is," Kagome looked up when she caught sight of Inuyasha's red clothing against the snowy horizon. "Inuyasha!" She called to get his attention.
He didn't immediately turn at her call. Why was he facing the tree up close? She had anticipated having to call him down from the branches.
Inuyasha had been doing his best to keep composure around Kagome whenever they had to be in each other's company. Every so often, though, he needed to drift away from his post as her personal watch guard and steal away a moment. He seldom allowed himself to feel so deeply, always preferring to stay busy to forget whatever was eating at him, but this was different. They had no mission to complete or shards to gather.
Watching her work in the village was the opposite of keeping busy. He couldn't handle the thoughts that often crossed his mind with nothing better to do. She was his intended for so long, and he would have waited a thousand years to see her again if he had to. He loved her, and he knew it was too late the moment she was taken from him after the battle with Naraku.
He wanted her to stay. He'd told her so the other night, but not quite how he'd planned. A part of him still wanted to fight for her. It didn't matter that she was carrying his half-brother's child-- it was half demon afterall. Who else could raise her child, knowing exactly what it meant inside and out to be half demon? Plus, he wasn't sure he could even produce a child. Half breeds might be sterile for all he knew. This pregnancy could be the answer to what he feared might have kept Kagome from accepting a proposal before she'd been taken from him four years ago.
On the other hand, he'd seen the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of Sesshomaru from the future. He had evolved, it seemed. Even here in the past, it was obvious he'd changed for the better. Maybe this was what his half-brother needed. Kagome could crack anyone, including himself. He wouldn't be surprised if she had him wrapped around her finger within twenty-four hours of being in each other's company.
Jumping down from the branches of the Tree of Ages, he figured he should make his way back to the village. Surely Kagome and Shippou had finished getting caught up by now. He'd told Hachi on his way back to the temple to stop and pass along the message to Shippou of her return two days ago. The twerp deserved to see his pseudo-mom.
Landing as elegantly as ever, Inuyasha felt lightheaded from his lack of sleep and balanced himself with a hand to the trunk of the tree. Guarding over Kagome was proving to take a toll on him. He worried over her and her baby, knowing what happened to half demons and the human women who bore them. He was staying up for days on end to make sure she was never without protection.
He caught a whiff then of his half-brother, but it was off, and abruptly closer than the fully fledged demon could travel.
"What the..?" Inuyasha muttered to himself, leaning closer to the tree's scars. It was him! "Sesshomaru?" He could feel his presence as if his skin was just beyond the tree's coarse exterior. This had happened before, with Kagome a long time ago. "Sesshomaru! Listen!" He wasn't even sure he could hear him, "I've got Kagome! She's okay!"
There was no reply. He waited a moment longer, considering his options. Sesshomaru from the future seemed to be fading in and out, until the connection was entirely lost.
Dammit.
"Inuyasha!" He heard Kagome call behind him, but he didn't dare move. Did he tell her? "Inuyasha!" She called again in a sing-song, trying to get his attention.
He turned to see her carrying Shippou like a baby cradled in her arms. His heart sank just a little bit. With his luck, her infant would be stamped across the forehead for all to see who they really belonged to.
"Come on, it's dinner time!" Shippou urged him to move it along.
He really needed to stop thinking it could work out between the two of them. He cursed himself for even letting it cross his mind.
"You spacing out, Inuyasha?" Kagome knocked on the side of his skull jokingly. "Hello, earth to Inuyasha, we have dinner ready."
"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha brushed her hand away gently, "I heard you the first time."
